Invalid wheel chair



July I3, i937. W HARTIG 2,086,55@

INVALID WHEEL CHAIR Filed Jan. ll, 1956 ,f E Zgg a@ Zzf J -Tf Patented lJuly 13,. 1937 UNITED-v sTATEs PATENT ori-ICE 4 Claims.

Thisl invention relates to new and useful im# provements in invalid wheel chairs.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an invalid wheel chair having a main 5 seat member which is stationary and is provided with a central opening and having an auxiliary seat member pivotally mounted on the underside of the first seat member and movable thereagainst to close said opening, and mechanism for holding said auxiliary or pivotal seat member in closed or raised position and manually operable to move it into open position.

Anothervobject of the invention is to provide an auxiliary seat member adapted to be hinged to the underside of a main seat member of an invalid wheel chair of the type now on the market,

and to provide means including a manually opery able lever adapted to be mounted in the chassis or frame of the chair and operatively associated with said auxiliary seat member lfor supporting the latter in closed position and operable'to move said auxiliary seat member into closed or open positions.

Additional objects of the invention are to provide simple and efficient means adapted to be ,attached to an existing type of invalid wheel chair and adapted to be manually operated by the occupant of said wheel chair for moving an auxiliary seat member into and out of cooperative relation with the main seat member.

With these and otherr objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an invalid wheel chair equipped with my auxiliary seat, one of the main wheels being removed to more clearly illustrate the invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of same, partly broken away, and showing in dotted lines the auxiliary seat member in dropped or open position.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the wheel chair.

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2 but showing the auxiliary seat member in open position.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing, I0 indicates a frame or chassis of an invalid wheel chair, including a pair of side memv bers II, in the front end of each of which is journaled a wheel I2 by means of a shaft I2a. One or two small wheels I3 are attached to the rear end of said frame III. A seat member I4 and a back section I5 are arranged on said frame the respective trunnion.

I0 in the usual manner. The seat member I4 is formed with a central opening I6.

Heretofore an auxiliary seat member was placed over said main seat member I4 to close the opening i6. This arrangement required the 5 patient to rise or to be removed from the chair.

It is the purpose of the present invention toI provide an auxiliary seat member so mounted and operated that it can be moved into open and closed position without disturbing the patientr10 seated in the chair. To this end an auxiliary seat member I1 is pivotally mounted on the underside i of main seat member Il and means i8 is provided for actuating said auxiliary seat member, said means being operable by a handle IS so lo- 15 cated that it can be reached and operated by the patient occupying the chair. l

The auxiliary seat member I1 is pivotally mounted at its forward end by hinges 2li which are secured -to the underside of the main seat ,member I4 adjacent to the forward end thereof. 20

A raised portion 2i is provided on one side of said auxiliary seat member I1 and this raised portion is of such diameter and shape as to iit snugly within the opening I6 when said member I1 is 25 moved into closed position.

The operating means I8 consists of an inverted U-shaped member, having a bight portion ida and a pair of legs I8b. Each of the latter terminates in a horizontally and outwardly disposed trunnion lac. These trunnions are jcurnaled in bearings 22 fixed to the side members I i of frame- I0 rearwardly of wheels I2. The handle I9 is xed to one of the trunnions IBC.

The inverted U-shaped member I8 is so mounted that the bight portion Ita thereof operates in an arc adjacent to the underside of the auxiliary seat member I1. In order to reduce friction and eliminate wear on seat member Il a metal plate 24 is secured to the underside of said seat mem- 40 ber in the path of movement of said bight portion i811. The width of the auxiliary seat member I1 is less than the distance between the legs l8b so that said member I1 can operate or swing freely between said legs as shown in dotted lines 45 lposition the handle I9 occupies substantially a horizontal position extending rearwardly from Thus the auxiliary 55 member il is supported in closed position by member I il and as the latter is moved past the center it cannot become displaced or move into an open position except by the manual operation, of handle i9. In order to prevent the ,handle i9 from moving beyond its predetermined position on its rearward stroke, suitable means are provided to form a stop for said handle. As shown in the drawing, this means consists of a pin or projection iixed to the respective side member il and arranged in the path of movement .of said handle. However, other means may be used for this purpose.

Member i8 is prevented from moving beyond its predetermined forward position by the axle l2a.

To bring the auxiliary seat member il into an upright position, the handle i9 is operated to swing the member i8 forwardly into the position shown in Figure 4. The auxiliary seat member il swings by gravity forwardly into an open or vertical position away from the opening I5.

A rail or slide 26 is xed to the underside of main seat member i4 t each side of opening I5 to support a pan 2l, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4. When the member il is in open position, the bight portionA l8c of member i8 extends transversely and forwardly of said member l'i and the handle occupies substantiallyjupright position. To close the auxiliary member i1 handle i9 is pressed rearwardly and downwardly, thereby rocking the member i8 rearwardly on its trunnions |80. The bight portion Isa bearing against plate 24 of member il lcauses the latter to move upwardly on its pivotal mounting into closing position.

'Ihe seat member I4 is inclined from horizontal, being higher at its front end. 'Ihis causes the track 24 to occupy inclined position when closed, permitting the bight portion Isa as it passes the center line to wedge against said track, and securely hold the section l'i against seat section M.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, it is obvious that many changes can be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit `oi i my invention and the invention is, therefore, not limited to the speciii'c construction hereinillustrated and described.-

I claim: v

l. In an invalid wheel chair having a frame and a main seat member formed with an opening, the combination of an auxiliary seat member pivotally mounted on the underside of said main seat member and movable into a position to close said opening, an inverted U-shaped member having its bight portion engaging the underside of said auxiliary seat member, means for pivotally mounting the ends of said inverted U-sha'ped member in said frame on a plane below the horizontal plane and 'spaced inwardly of the pivotal mounting of said auxiliary seat member, and a manually operable handle fixed to one end` of said inverted U-shaped member for actuating the latter and moving vthe bight ,portion past the center of the pivot of said U-shaped member to SuDpOrt and lock said auxiliaryseat member in a closed position.

2. In an invalid wheel chair, the combination with a frame and a main seat member thereof, said main seat member being provided with a central opening, of an auxiliary seat member adapted to tagainst the underside of said main seat member and close said opening, means for pivotally mounting said auxiliary seat member on the underside of said mainseat member, an inverted U-shaped member, means for pivotally mounting the ends of said U-shaped member on said frame below the horizontalv plane of the pivot of said auxiliary seat member, the bight portion of said inverted U-shaped member engaging the underside of said auxiliary seat member, said bight portion' occupying aposition past the vertical plane of the axis of said U-shaped member to support and lock lsaid auxiliary seat member in a closed position,A and a manually operable handle operatively associated with said inverted U-shaped member for actuating thd latter and moving said auxiliary seat member into open and closed positions.

3. In an invalid wheel chair, the combination with a frame and a main seat member thereof, said main seat member being provided with a. central opening, of an auxiliary-seat member pivotally mounted at its forward end adjacent to the forward end of said main seat member and movable upwardly to close the opening in saidmain seat member, an inverted U-shaped member having its ends pivotally mounted in said frame below the pivotal mounting of said auxiliary seat member and having its bight portion adapted to bear against the underside of said auxiliary seat meinber. and manually operable means for operating said inverted U-shaped member whereby said bight portion can be v moved past the vertical plane of the axis of said U-shaped member to support and lock said auxiliary seat member in a lclosed position.

4. In an invalid wheel chair, the combination with a frame and a main seat member, said main seat member having a central opening, of an auxiliary seat member pivotally mounted at one end adjacent to one end of said main seat member, and an inverted U-shaped member having its ends pivotally mounted in said frame and having its bight portion adapted to engage the underside of said auxiliary seat member and move and support it in a closed position, said bight portion when in a closed position being disposed past the center of said 'pivotal ends' to prevent accidental movement into an open position, the underside of said auxiliary seat member being inclined vfrom horizontal in a denite relation with the movement of said bight portion to produce a wedging action therebetween when in'a closed position. v

WALTER HAR'I'IG. 

